11-oxygenated-1-dehydrotestololactones



y Y 2,946,807 V 11-OXYGENATED l-DEHYDROTESTOLOLAC- v 'ITONE'S it Josef Fried, New- Brunswick," and-Richard W. Thotna, v srnerville, NJL, assignorstolQlin Mathieson Chemical i- "Corporation, ;New?Yorlr,-.%N.Y.-, H'COI'PDI'afiOH OfJVlI- inventionrelatesto, and'has for its object, the provision of steroids of thegeneral formula wherein R is hydrogen, R is Q-hY l Y y Y and together", R and R! is..keto.' These, compounds are phaImacologically-ac'tive steroids, useful 'protein- ;the'organ ism itself under oxidizing and preferably aerobic Piran a July: 26, 1960 2 javanicum var. ensif'orm'e for the purposes of this invention are (except for the inclusion of the progesterone to be converted) the same as those of culturing various other molds for the production of antibiotics and/or vitamin B-(LZ, i.e., the microorganism is" aerobically grown in contact with (in or on)'-asuitable'fermentation medium. A suitable mediumessentially comprises a source of carbon and'energy. "I'lielatt'er may be a carbohydrate (such as sucrose, molasses, glucose, maltose, starch, or dextrin),

'alfatty acid, a 'fat and/or the steroid itself. Preferably, 7

however, the medium includes an assirnilable source of carbo'r'rj an'denergv'in additio'r1 to the steroid. :Among the fats 'utilizabl'fo'r thepurpose 'of'thi's invention "are: lard oi1;soyb*seam oil,"linseedoil, cottonseed 'oil, peanut oil, coconut'oil," corn 'oil,'caster oil, sesame oil, crude palm oil, fancy muttonta'llow, sperm oil, .olive oil, tristearin, tripalmitin, triolein, and trilaurin. Among the fatty acids utilizable' for the purpose of this invention conditions; and further, that this new steroid caneither be oxidized to another of, the steroids of this invention, namely,- 1r1 keto-l dehydrotestololactone; or esterified -to yield the Lldt-ZICYIGXY derivatives Among-"thesteroids formethby the process of this invention are 11a-hydroxy l-dehydrotestololactone,.';1 1 ketoil-dehydrotestololactone (R and-R-" -is.'keto') .and esters of 1 1a-hydroxy-l-dehydrotestololactone,- AlthouglLall: ester derivatives have thecstro genic. activity 'of free Ila-hydroxy-l-dehydrotestololactone; the preferred esters are those wformed fromzorg'anic 1 carboxyli'csacids, especially 7 frommorganic hydrocarbon ,carboxylic acids having less than{.ten Carbon atoms, e emplified lower alkauioic' acids (e.'g. acetic, propion'ic J-a'nd ibutyric acid),

flthe' monocyclic' aromatic carboxylic' acids"; (e.g; -ben'zoic,

'jt6luic', and xyloic acid"), and"the"monocyclic aralkanoic T6 prepare thesteroids f thi invention,*progesterone is subjected to the action of enzymes ofthej microi'organisrnfFusdrium javz'micum var." ensiforrite' under oxidizing conditions. This. oxidationcanfbest' effected by (either including progesteronein' an aerobic cultureof the microorganism or by bringing together, in an aqueous medium, the steroid, air, and enzymes ofnon-proliferating "cellsof'the microorganism;

In general," the"condi"ons of cultun' "nr1isarium feasible, but not limiting.

are: stearic acid, palmitic and myristic acid. V

The source 1 of 1 nitrogenous factors may be organic (e.g." soybean meal, corn'steep liquor, meat extract and/ or acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid,

distillers soluble s) or synthetic (Le, composed of simple,

synthesizable organic and inorganic compounds such as ammonium salts, alkali nitrates, amino acids or urea).

An adequate sterile-air supply should be maintained during fermentation, for example, by'the conventional methods of exposing a large surface of the medium to air or by utilizing submerged aeratedculture; The steroid may be added to' the cultured ur-ing the incubation period, 'or' included in the medium prior to sterilizationor inoculation. The preferred (but notlimiting) range of concentration of the-steroid in the culture is about 0.01 to 0.10%. 1 .The culture period (or rather the time of sub jecting the steroid to the action of the enzyme) may vary considerably; the rang'eof about 6 to 96 hours being The process yields, inter alia, IIOL-hYdI'OXY-ll-dChY- drotestololactone, which maybe separated from the broth by extraction. 1 1oc hydroxy l dehydrotestolol-actone can, if "desired, either be esterified'in the usual manner, as by treatmentwith'the desired acid anhydride or acyl halide .in an organic solvent (preferably an organic base such' as pyridine) to yield Lloz acyloxy 1 dehydrotestololactone, or oxidized in the usual manner, as by treatment with a hexavalent chromium compound (e,g. chromic acid) in an organic solvent (preferably an organic acid such as glacial acid)yto'give 1l-keto-1-dehydrotestololactone. v v

The following examples are illustrative of theinvention:

- 7 v i EXAMPLEl 1"! 1] dt hydr' y ttehydrotstbldlactone a *='i.(a), Ferm'entwtiorti.A" fermentation imediuin' an the following composition is prepared:

' G. Starch. '20 Maltedcereal extract syrup v10 JPeptone 20 C lose ,44 M V S 1r v, ,:-'-.--.-1--.--::- '1 V {-1 -:KCI m v V 0.5 MgSO'IflH' O 0.5 ReSOgJH 'O' LZ 0.0183

Water, to make 1 liter.

The H ofjthe mediumfis adjusted'to vfoiarwithfz }N NaOH solution, and 50. m1, portions of the mediu'mare distributed in 250 mLErIenmeyer flasks, and "the flasks are plugged with cotton 'and sterilized by 'autoclaving' for inoculated with about one-fifth of the surface growth from a Fusarium iavanicum var. ensiforme agar slant (obtainable, inter alia, from the Quartermaster Culture Collection, Quartermaster General Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pensylvania). Thegrowth is obtained by growingthe microorganism on Sabouraud dextrose agar (dextrose, 40 g.; neopeptone, '10 g.; agar, 15 g.; distilled water to make 1000 cc.) for 3 to 30 days.

The flasks are then mechanically shaken for 69 hours at 25 C. on a 280 cycle per minute rotary shaker, after which about (v./v.) is transferred to each of flasks containing the following medium:

Water, to make one liter. i i 7 androstadiene-11a-ol-3J 7-di0ne.--The thus-obtained culture filtrate is extracted with three 1500 ml. portions of chloroform and the combined chloroform extracts evaporated to dryness in vacuo. The residue from the chloroform extract (1.1076 g.) is dissolved in 5 ml. of chloroform and 25 ml. of benzene and chromatographed on 22 g. of silicagel. Elution with chloroform-benzene 1:1 (900 ml.) and with chloroform (225 ml.) yields l-dehydrotestololactone (about 470mg), which is followed by A -and'rostadiene-l1a-ol-3,17-dione (about 197 mg.) when the eluant is changed to 5% acetone in chloroform (2100 ml).- The latter is identified by comparison with an authentic sample and by oxidation to A -androstadiene-3,11,17-trione.

and 0.05% of progesterone (total 375mg)- After 72 T (b) Isolation of 1-dehydr0testol0lact0ne.-The.thus- T obtained culture filtrate is extracted with three 800 ml. portions of chloroform and the combined chloroform extracts evaporated to dryness in vacuo. The residue from the chloroform solution (about 353 mg.) is' dissolved in 2 ml. of chloroform and 10 ml. of benzene and chromatographed on 6 g. of silicagel. Elution with chloroformbenzene 2:5 (700 ml.) and 1:1 (150 ml.) produces 1- dehydrotestololactone, M.P. about 220-222 C.; [c1 -47 (CI-I01 identical in 'its infrared spectra with an authentic sample.

(c) Isolation of the 110: hydroxy I-dehydrotestololactone-Continued elution of the silicagel with 5% acetone in chloroform (950 ml.) and 25% acetone in chloroform (200ml) furnishes 11a-hydroxy-1-dehydrotestololactone, which after crystallization from acetone has the following properties: M.P. about 251-253" C; 58 (c., 0195 in CHCl A333, 244-. m (e=18,300); A532 296 (OH), 5.80 (lactone) 603g, 61811., 6.26;. (A -keto).

Analysis.--Calcd. C19Hg404 C,

H, 7.65. Found: C, 72.42; H, 7.90. V

EXAMPLE 2 (a) Fermentation.-250 ml. flasks containing the first medium described in Example 1, section a, are inoculated with a growth of Fusarium iavanicum var. ensiforme, prepared as in Example 1. The flasks are incubated as in Example 1 for 69 hours, after which about 4% (v./v.) transfer is made to each of 60 lowing medium:

hours the contents of the flasks are filtered through a Seitz pad and washed with 200 ml. of water. volume of filtrate and wash is 1783 ml.

(b) Isolation of 1 dehydrotestololactone and A Total flasks containing the fol- (c) Isolationpf the 11a hydroxy 1 -deh;ydrotestr.1lo lactone and A -andr0stadiene-11 (1,1 7B-diol-3-one.-Continued elution with acetone-chloroform (1:4) (950 ml.) and 1:1 (2001111.) furnishes a crystalline fraction (about 170 mg.) which melts at about 165-l67 C. an d which on crystallization behaves like a mixture. It is, therefore, dissolved in 1 ml. of chloroform and 1.5 ml. of benzene and rechromagraphed on 2.2 g. of sulfuric acid-washed alumina. Elution with chloroform-benzene 2:3 (300 ml.) furnishes lla-hydroxy 1 dehydrotestololactone (about 10 mg.) which after recrystallization from ethyl acetate melts at about 250 C. and whose infrared spectrum is identical with that of anauthentic sample. Subsequent elution with chloroform (300 ml.) and with 5% acetone in chloroform ml.) yields A -androstadiene- 11,l7B-ol-3-one, identified by its melting point (about 183-185 C.) and by infrared comparison with an authentic sample. V T

11a-hydroxy-l-dehydrotestololactone can be oxidized to the llr-keto derivative'as illustrated in the. following example:

EXAMPLE 3 H l1-ket0-1-dehydrotestololactone' To a solution of 22.5 mg. of 11ci-hydroxy1-dehydrotestololactone in 2 ml. of glacial acetic acid is added a solution. of 10 mg. of chromic acid in 2 ml. of acetic acid. After 30 minutes at room temperature, methanol is added to reduce excess chromic acid and the mixture is taken up in water and chloroform. The chloroform solution is extracted with water, dilute sodium bicarbonate and again withwater, dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent removed in vacuo. The residue from .the chloroform extract is crystallized from acetone-hexane yielding the pure ketone of the following properties: M.P. about 213-215" (2.; [0:1 +54 (c., 0.70in C Q; J my 239 mp (e=16:,100); X232 5.75u (lactone); 5.83; (ll-keto); 6.00 6.14;, 6.23 1. (A -3-keto).

Analysis-Calm. for C H O (314.36): C, 72.59; H,

7.05; Found: C, 72.78; H, 7.04.

11a-hydroxy-l-dehydrotestololactone can be acylated :as illustrated by the-following example:

j H EXAMPLE 4 5 1Iu hydfqxy-ldehydratestololactone Ila-acetate A solution of 25 mg. of 11a-hydroxy-l-dehydrotestololactone in 0.5 ml. of pyridine-and 0.5,ml. of acetic anhydride is allowed to stand at room temperature for 18 :hours. After removal of the reagents in vacuo, the

' 5 5 We claim: 2. 11a-hydroxy-l-dehydrotesto1o1acton. 1. A steroid of the general formula I 3. 1l-keto-l-dehydrotesto1o1actone.

/0 0 v 5 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,744,120 Fried et a1. MAY 1, 1956 2,755,289 Picha Jflly 17, 1956 10 OTHER REFERENCES whe ein R i hydrogen, is selected from the group Fried et a1.: Iourn. Am. Chem. Society, vol. 75, pp.

consisting of a-hydroxy and a-acyloxy, wherein the acyl 5764-5 (1953).

lrddical is of an Organic hydrocarbon carboxylic acid of Vischer et =al.: ExpeTentia, vol. 9, #10, pp. 371-372 'less than ten carbon atoms selected from the group con- (1953),

sisting of lower alkanoic acids, mvnocyclic aromatic 15 Peterson et :11.: J.A.C.S., 75, 57684769 (November boxylic acids and monocyclic aralkanoic acids, and to- 1953), gether R and R' is keto. 

1. A STEROID OF THE GENERAL FORMULA 